Methods and systems for supplementing media assets during fast-access playback operations

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for a media guidance application that enhances the viewer experience by providing supplemental content related to a media asset during a fast-access playback operation. For example, in response to a user input during a fast-forward or rewind operation, the media guidance application may generate for display supplemental content related to the progression point of the media asset at which the user input was received while the fast-forward or rewind operation continues.

BACKGROUND

As the use of DVR and availability of On-Demand content rises, users areincreasingly given options to perform fast-access playback operations(e.g., fast-forwards, rewinds, etc.) upon content that they arewatching. While such options usually enhance the viewer experience, suchfast-access playback operations are also the source of pitfalls to theviewer experience such as missing important details whilefast-forwarding, overrunning a desired stopping point while rewinding,etc.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, methods and systems are disclosed herein for a mediaguidance application that enhances the viewer experience by providingsupplemental content related to a media asset during a fast-accessplayback operation. For example, in response to a user input during afast-forward or rewind operation, the media guidance application maygenerate for display supplemental content related to the progressionpoint of the media asset at which the user input was received while thefast-forward or rewind operation continues.

In some aspects, the media guidance application receives a user inputwhile a media asset is subject to a fast-access playback operation anddetermines a progression point in the media asset when the user inputwas received. The media guidance application may then cross-referencethe progression point with a database listing media content associatedwith different progression points in the media asset to determinesupplemental content associated with the progression point and generatefor presentation the supplemental content while the media assetcontinues to be subject to the fast-access playback operation. Forexample, while a media asset is being fast-forwarded, a user may requestsupplemental content to be presented that is related to a currentprogression point in the media asset while the media asset continues tobe fast-forwarded.

The media guidance application may present numerous types ofsupplemental content. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may present supplemental content that includes apicture-in-picture (“PIP”) display featuring a first video presentationof the media asset starting at the progression point and played back ata normal speed. The PIP display may be overlaid on a second videopresentation of the media asset played back at a speed faster than thenormal speed (e.g., corresponding to the fast-access playbackoperation). For example, while a media asset continues to befast-forwarded, the media guidance application may present a PIP displayof the current progression point of the media asset. Accordingly, theuser may view the media asset at a normal playback speed in the PIPdisplay, while the media asset continues to be displayed at the fasterthan normal playback speed on a main display.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may presentsupplemental content that includes a textual summary of the media assetat the progression point. For example, while a media asset continues tobe fast-forwarded, the media guidance application may present subtitlesand/or textual descriptions related to the current progression point ofthe media asset. Accordingly, the user may read the subtitles and/ortextual descriptions, while the media asset continues to be presented ata faster than normal playback speed due to the fast-forward.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may presentsupplemental content that includes audio of the media asset at theprogression point. For example, while a media asset continues to befast-forwarded, the media guidance application may present audio contentrelated to the current progression point of the media asset played backat a normal speed. Accordingly, the user may hear the audio content ofthe media asset at a normal playback speed, while the media assetcontinues to be displayed at the faster than normal playback speed.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may presentsupplemental content that includes highlights of a portion of the mediaasset that has been subject to fast-access playback operation. Forexample, while a media asset continues to be fast-forwarded, the mediaguidance application may present a PIP display featuring highlights of aportion of the media asset that the user has fast-forwarded through.Accordingly, the user may view the highlights in a normal playbackspeed, while the media asset continues to be presented at a faster thannormal playback speed due to the fast-forward.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may accesssupplemental content of multiple types (e.g., textual descriptions,highlights, etc.) associated with any progression point in a mediaasset. Alternatively, the media guidance application may only haveaccess to particular types of supplemental content that are associatedwith only particular points in a media asset. In either case, the mediaguidance application may generate for presentation a notification thatsupplemental content and/or particular types of supplemental content areavailable. For example, while a media asset is subject to a fast-accessplayback operation, the media guidance application may present anon-screen menu related to available supplemental content. Accordingly,the media guidance application may alert a user to availablesupplemental content, while the media asset continues to be presented ata faster than normal playback speed due to the fast-forward.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may select a type ofsupplemental content based on tactile attributes (e.g., an amount ofpressure applied by a user during a user input, the length of timepressure was applied by a user during a user input, the velocity of auser input, etc.) associated with the user input. For example, the mediaguidance application may determine an amount of pressure applied by auser associated with the user input and select the supplemental contentbased on the amount of pressure. For example, in response to a highamount of pressure during a user input, the media guidance applicationmay select supplemental content that includes highlights of the mediaasset subject to the fast-access playback operation. Whereas, inresponse to a low amount of pressure during the user input, the mediaguidance application may select supplemental content that includes atextual description of the media asset subject to the fast-accessplayback operation.

It should be noted, the systems and/or methods described above may becombined with, applied to, or used in accordance with, other systems,methods and/or apparatuses discussed both above and below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the disclosure will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative example of a media guidance display fornavigating and selecting media assets in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows another illustrative example of a media guidance displayfor navigating and selecting media assets in accordance with someembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative user equipment device inaccordance with some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative media system in accordancewith some embodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative example of a media guidance displaynotifying a user of the availability of supplemental content associatedwith a current progression point in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 5B shows illustrative examples of a media guidance displaypresenting supplemental content in accordance with some embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for presenting supplementalcontent in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for performing mediaguidance functions based on tactile attributes associated with a userinput in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Methods and systems are disclosed herein for a media guidanceapplication that enhances the viewer experience by providingsupplemental content related to a media asset during a fast-accessplayback operation. For example, in response to a user input during afast-forward or rewind operation, the media guidance application maygenerate for display supplemental content related to the progressionpoint of the media asset at which the user input was received while thefast-forward or rewind operation continues.

As used herein, “a media guidance application,” “interactive mediaguidance application,” or “guidance application” refer to a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate, identify, view, playback, and/or obtain information aboutcontent that they may desire. In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may be provided as an on-line application (i.e., provided ona website), or as a stand-alone application on a server, user device,etc. Various devices and platforms that may implement the media guidanceapplication are described in more detail below. In some embodiments, themedia guidance application and/or any instructions for performing any ofthe embodiments discussed herein may be encoded on computer readablemedia. Computer readable media includes any media capable of storingdata. The computer readable media may be transitory, including, but notlimited to, propagating electrical or electromagnetic signals, or may benon-transitory including, but not limited to, volatile and non-volatilecomputer memory or storage devices such as a hard disk, floppy disk, USBdrive, DVD, CD, media card, register memory, processor caches, RandomAccess Memory (“RAM”), etc.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the content for which they provide guidance. One typical type ofmedia guidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof content or media assets. Interactive media guidance applications maygenerate graphical user interface screens that enable a user to navigateamong, locate and select content.

As referred to herein, the terms “media asset” and “content” should beunderstood to mean an electronically consumable user asset, such astelevision programming, as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demandprograms (as in video-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g.,streaming content, downloadable content, Webcasts, etc.), video clips,audio, content information, pictures, rotating images, documents,playlists, websites, articles, books, electronic books, blogs,advertisements, chat sessions, social media, applications, games, and/orany other media or multimedia and/or combination of the same. Guidanceapplications also allow users to navigate among and locate content. Asreferred to herein, the term “multimedia” should be understood to meancontent that utilizes at least two different content forms describedabove, for example, text, audio, images, video, or interactivity contentforms. Content may be recorded, played, displayed or accessed by userequipment devices, but can also be part of a live performance.

The media guidance application may perform numerous media guidancefunctions. As used herein, a “media guidance function,” refers to anyfeature, operation, or service related to the consumption of a mediaasset and/or media guidance data provided by the media guidanceapplication. For example, a media guidance function may refer to thepresentation of a media asset and/or supplemental content by the mediaguidance application. In another example, a media guidance function mayinclude a performance or conclusion of a fast-access playback operationand/or the presentation of supplemental content during the fast-accessplayback operation. It should be noted that any embodiment describedherein in relation to the performance of one media guidance function mayequally be applied to the performance of another media guidancefunction.

In some embodiments, a media guidance application may presentsupplemental content. As used herein, “supplemental content” refers toany content related to a media asset that supplements a currentpresentation of a media asset with media content related to the mediaasset. Supplemental content may include content featuring audio, video,and/or textual data associated with one or more progression points in amedia asset. As used herein, a “progression point” refers to a finiteinstance in the playback of a media asset. A media asset may include oneor more progression points during its play length. For example, if themedia asset is a video, a progression point may refer to a particularframe of the video. In some embodiments, supplemental content mayinclude a textual summary of a portion of the media asset, audio contentassociated with a portion of the media asset, highlights associated witha portion of the media asset, etc., corresponding to one or moreprogression points in the media asset.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may perform a mediaguidance function (e.g., presenting supplemental content) during afast-access playback operation. As referred to herein, the phrase“fast-access playback operation” should be understood to mean anyoperation that pertains to playing back a non-linear media asset atfaster than normal playback speed or in a different order than the mediaasset is designed to be played, such as a fast-forward, rewind, skip,chapter selection, segment selection, skip segment, jump segment, nextsegment, previous segment, skip advertisement, or commercial, nextchapter, previous chapter or any other operation that does not play backthe media asset at normal playback speed. The fast-access playbackoperation may be any playback operation that is not “play,” where theplay operation plays back the media asset at normal playback speed.

In some embodiments, a media guidance function may include presentingmedia guidance data. As referred to herein, the phrase, “media guidancedata” or “guidance data” should be understood to mean any data relatedto content, such as media listings, media-related information (e.g.,broadcast times, broadcast channels, titles, descriptions, ratingsinformation (e.g., parental control ratings, critics' ratings, etc.),genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, 3D, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, blogs,websites, and any other type of guidance data that is helpful for a userto navigate among and locate desired content selections.

For example, in some embodiments, supplemental content may include mediaguidance data related to the currently presented media asset or to amedia asset that is not currently presented. For example, the mediaguidance application may present listings that are related to thecurrent progression point of the media asset (e.g., based on similarproduction qualities, such as episode, series, etc., plot points, castand crew information, and/or any other relationship between multiplemedia assets).

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may select the mediaguidance function performed from the plurality of media guidancefunctions in response to the user input. For example, in someembodiments, the media guidance application may perform different mediaguidance functions (e.g., associated with the presentation of differentsupplemental content) based on a user selection or one or more optionsrelated to the performance of media guidance functions.

In some embodiments, supplemental content may include only summaryinformation associated with the currently presented media asset. As usedherein, “summary information” refers to audio, video, and/or textualcontent that relates to the plot or context of a currently presentedmedia asset. For example, summary information may include a audio, videoand/or textual synopsis of a current scene (e.g., indicating the currentchapter, information related to characters involved in the scene, plotpoints related to the scene, etc.) or a portion of the media asset thathas been subject thus far to the fast-access playback operation. Summaryinformation does not include advertisements or content related to othermedia assets, including commercials associated with a currentlypresented media asset. In some embodiments, summary information is onlyuser-initiated, meaning that summary information is only presented inresponse to a user input requesting summary information during afast-access playback operation. For example, in such cases, summaryinformation does not include advertisements automatically presentedduring a fast-access playback operation as discussed in Knee et al.,U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2010/0166389, published Jul. 1, 2010, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, a single user input may trigger various mediaguidance functions depending on how a user contacts a user inputinterface when making the user input. For example, the media guidanceapplication may determine the tactile attributes associated with thecontact between a user and a user input interface and select aparticular media guidance function associated with the particulartactile attributes and the particular user input.

As used herein, a “tactile attribute” refers to a characteristicdescribing the contact between a user and a user input interface thatresults in a user input. For example, a tactile attribute may describean amount of pressure applied by a user to a user input interface whenmaking a user input, a length of time a user contacts and/or appliespressure to a user input interface in order to make a user input, avelocity at which a user touches a user input interface when making auser input, a frequency of contact between a user and a user inputinterface when making user inputs, how a user contacts a user inputinterface (e.g., by swiping, pinching, striking, rubbing, etc.) whenmaking a user input, a direction a user contacts a user input interface(e.g., vertically, horizontally, left-to-right, right-to-left,diagonally, etc.), what a user uses to make contact with a user inputinterface when making a user input, and/or any other characteristic thatdescribes the contact between a user and the user input interface whenmaking a user input.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application cross-references thetactile attributes associated with a user input with a database listinga plurality of media guidance functions, each associated with differenttactile attributes, or values of tactile attributes, to determine amedia guidance function associated with the tactile attributes of theuser input. The performance of different media guidance functions basedon the tactile attributes associated with a user input is discussed indepth in Golyshko et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/142,548,filed Dec. 27, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein inits entirety.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on user equipment deviceson which they traditionally did not. As referred to herein, the phrase“user equipment device,” “user equipment,” “user device,” “electronicdevice,” “electronic equipment,” “media equipment device,” or “mediadevice” should be understood to mean any device for accessing thecontent described above, such as a television, a Smart TV, a set-topbox, an integrated receiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellitetelevision, a digital storage device, a digital media receiver (DMR), adigital media adapter (DMA), a streaming media device, a DVD player, aDVD recorder, a connected DVD, a local media server, a BLU-RAY player, aBLU-RAY recorder, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PCmedia server, a PC media center, a hand-held computer, a stationarytelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, aportable video player, a portable music player, a portable gamingmachine, a smart phone, or any other television equipment, computingequipment, or wireless device, and/or combination of the same. In someembodiments, the user equipment device may have a front facing screenand a rear facing screen, multiple front screens, or multiple angledscreens. In some embodiments, the user equipment device may have a frontfacing camera and/or a rear facing camera. On these user equipmentdevices, users may be able to navigate among and locate the same contentavailable through a television. Consequently, media guidance may beavailable on these devices, as well. The guidance provided may be forcontent available only through a television, for content available onlythrough one or more of other types of user equipment devices, or forcontent available both through a television and one or more of the othertypes of user equipment devices. The media guidance applications may beprovided as on-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or asstand-alone applications or clients on user equipment devices. Variousdevices and platforms that may implement media guidance applications aredescribed in more detail below.

FIGS. 1-2 show illustrative display screens that may be used to providemedia guidance data. The display screens shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 5A-B maybe implemented on any suitable user equipment device or platform. Whilethe displays of FIGS. 1-2 and 5A-B are illustrated as full screendisplays, they may also be fully or partially overlaid over contentbeing displayed. A user may indicate a desire to access contentinformation by selecting a selectable option provided in a displayscreen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, a hyperlink,etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button) on a remotecontrol or other user input interface or device. In response to theuser's indication, the media guidance application may provide a displayscreen with media guidance data organized in one of several ways, suchas by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by source, bycontent type, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, orother categories of programming), or other predefined, user-defined, orother organization criteria. The organization of the media guidance datais determined by guidance application data. As referred to herein, thephrase, “guidance application data” should be understood to mean dataused in operating the guidance application, such as program information,guidance application settings, user preferences, or user profileinformation.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of contentin a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1) a columnof channel/content type identifiers 104, where each channel/content typeidentifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or content type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers106, where each time identifier (which is a cell in the row) identifiesa time block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. With a user input device, a user can select program listings bymoving highlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming (e.g., contentthat is scheduled to be transmitted to a plurality of user equipmentdevices at a predetermined time and is provided according to aschedule), the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming (e.g., content accessible to a user equipmentdevice at any time and is not provided according to a schedule).Non-linear programming may include content from different contentsources including on-demand content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored content(e.g., content stored on any user equipment device described above orother storage device), or other time-independent content. On-demandcontent may include movies or any other content provided by a particularcontent provider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “CurbYour Enthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming content or downloadable content throughan Internet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP).

Grid 102 may provide media guidance data for non-linear programmingincluding on-demand listing 114, recorded content listing 116, andInternet content listing 118. A display combining media guidance datafor content from different types of content sources is sometimesreferred to as a “mixed-media” display. Various permutations of thetypes of media guidance data that may be displayed that are differentthan display 100 may be based on user selection or guidance applicationdefinition (e.g., a display of only recorded and broadcast listings,only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated, listings114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time block displayedin grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings may provideaccess to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recorded listings,or Internet listings, respectively. In some embodiments, listings forthese content types may be included directly in grid 102. Additionalmedia guidance data may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfield et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the content listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the content displayed in grid 102. Advertisement124 may be selectable and provide further information about content,provide information about a product or a service, enable purchasing ofcontent, a product, or a service, provide content relating to theadvertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 may be targeted based on a user'sprofile/preferences, monitored user activity, the type of displayprovided, or on other suitable targeted advertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over content or a guidanceapplication display or embedded within a display. Advertisements mayalso include text, images, rotating images, video clips, or other typesof content described above. Advertisements may be stored in a userequipment device having a guidance application, in a database connectedto the user equipment, in a remote location (including streaming mediaservers), or on other storage means, or a combination of theselocations. Providing advertisements in a media guidance application isdiscussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2003/0110499, filed Jan. 17, 2003; Ward, IIIet al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004; and Schein et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the embodiments described herein.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types ofcontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens described herein), or may be invoked by a user byselecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated or assignablebutton on a user input device. The selectable options within optionsregion 126 may concern features related to program listings in grid 102or may include options available from a main menu display. Featuresrelated to program listings may include searching for other air times orways of receiving a program, recording a program, enabling seriesrecording of a program, setting program and/or channel as a favorite,purchasing a program, or other features. Options available from a mainmenu display may include search options, VOD options, parental controloptions, Internet options, cloud-based options, device synchronizationoptions, second screen device options, options to access various typesof media guidance data displays, options to subscribe to a premiumservice, options to edit a user's profile, options to access a browseoverlay, or other options.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font size of text, etc.), aspects of content listings displayed (e.g.,only HDTV or only 3D programming, user-specified broadcast channelsbased on favorite channel selections, re-ordering the display ofchannels, recommended content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,etc.), parental control settings, customized presentation of Internetcontent (e.g., presentation of social media content, e-mail,electronically delivered articles, etc.) and other desiredcustomizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the content theuser accesses and/or other interactions the user may have with theguidance application. Additionally, the media guidance application mayobtain all or part of other user profiles that are related to aparticular user (e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the useraccesses, such as www.allrovi.com, from other media guidanceapplications the user accesses, from other interactive applications theuser accesses, from another user equipment device of the user, etc.),and/or obtain information about the user from other sources that themedia guidance application may access. As a result, a user can beprovided with a unified guidance application experience across theuser's different user equipment devices. This type of user experience isdescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 4. Additionalpersonalized media guidance application features are described ingreater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2005/0251827, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. Pat. No.7,165,098, issued Jan. 16, 2007, and Ellis et al., U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. 2002/0174430, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 forcontent information organized based on content type, genre, and/or otherorganization criteria. In display 200, television listings option 204 isselected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 as broadcastprogram listings. In display 200 the listings may provide graphicalimages including cover art, still images from the content, video clippreviews, live video from the content, or other types of content thatindicate to a user the content being described by the media guidancedata in the listing. Each of the graphical listings may also beaccompanied by text to provide further information about the contentassociated with the listing. For example, listing 208 may include morethan one portion, including media portion 214 and text portion 216.Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectable to viewcontent in full-screen or to view information related to the contentdisplayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for the channelthat the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the content provider orbased on user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating content listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0153885, filed Dec. 29, 2005,which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access content and the media guidance application (and itsdisplay screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive content and data via input/output(hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may provide content (e.g.,broadcast programming, on-demand programming, Internet content, contentavailable over a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),and/or other content) and data to control circuitry 304, which includesprocessing circuitry 306 and storage 308. Control circuitry 304 may beused to send and receive commands, requests, and other suitable datausing I/O path 302. I/O path 302 may connect control circuitry 304 (andspecifically processing circuitry 306) to one or more communicationspaths (described below). I/O functions may be provided by one or more ofthese communications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 toavoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitrysuch as processing circuitry 306. As referred to herein, processingcircuitry should be understood to mean circuitry based on one or moremicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors,programmable logic devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc., and may includea multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core, quad-core, hexa-core, or anysuitable number of cores) or supercomputer. In some embodiments,processing circuitry may be distributed across multiple separateprocessors or processing units, for example, multiple of the same typeof processing units (e.g., two Intel Core i7 processors) or multipledifferent processors (e.g., an Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Corei7 processor). In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executesinstructions for a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e.,storage 308). Specifically, control circuitry 304 may be instructed bythe media guidance application to perform the functions discussed aboveand below. For example, the media guidance application may provideinstructions to control circuitry 304 to generate the media guidancedisplays. In some implementations, any action performed by controlcircuitry 304 may be based on instructions received from the mediaguidance application.

In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. The instructions forcarrying out the above mentioned functionality may be stored on theguidance application server. Communications circuitry may include acable modem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, adigital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, Ethernet card,or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment, or anyother suitable communications circuitry. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths(which is described in more detail in connection with FIG. 4). Inaddition, communications circuitry may include circuitry that enablespeer-to-peer communication of user equipment devices, or communicationof user equipment devices in locations remote from each other (describedin more detail below).

Memory may be an electronic storage device provided as storage 308 thatis part of control circuitry 304. As referred to herein, the phrase“electronic storage device” or “storage device” should be understood tomean any device for storing electronic data, computer software, orfirmware, such as random-access memory, read-only memory, hard drives,optical drives, digital video disc (DVD) recorders, compact disc (CD)recorders, BLU-RAY disc (BD) recorders, BLU-RAY 3D disc recorders,digital video recorders (DVR, sometimes called a personal videorecorder, or PVR), solid state devices, quantum storage devices, gamingconsoles, gaming media, or any other suitable fixed or removable storagedevices, and/or any combination of the same. Storage 308 may be used tostore various types of content described herein as well as mediaguidance information, described above, and guidance application data,described above. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch aboot-up routine and other instructions). Cloud-based storage, describedin relation to FIG. 4, may be used to supplement storage 308 or insteadof storage 308.

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scaler circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting content into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment device to receive and todisplay, to play, or to record content. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitrydescribed herein, including for example, the tuning, video generating,encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting, scaler, and analog/digitalcircuitry, may be implemented using software running on one or moregeneral purpose or specialized processors. Multiple tuners may beprovided to handle simultaneous tuning functions (e.g., watch and recordfunctions, picture-in-picture (PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording,etc.). If storage 308 is provided as a separate device from userequipment 300, the tuning and encoding circuitry (including multipletuners) may be associated with storage 308.

A user may send instructions to control circuitry 304 using user inputinterface 310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable userinterface, such as a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard,touch screen, touchpad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognitioninterface, or other user input interfaces. Display 312 may be providedas a stand-alone device or integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300. Display 312 may be one or more of a monitor, atelevision, a liquid crystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or anyother suitable equipment for displaying visual images. In someembodiments, display 312 may be HDTV-capable. In some embodiments,display 312 may be a 3D display, and the interactive media guidanceapplication and any suitable content may be displayed in 3D. A videocard or graphics card may generate the output to the display 312. Thevideo card may offer various functions such as accelerated rendering of3D scenes and 2D graphics, MPEG-2/MPEG-4 decoding, TV output, or theability to connect multiple monitors. The video card may be anyprocessing circuitry described above in relation to control circuitry304. The video card may be integrated with the control circuitry 304.Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated with other elements of userequipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units. The audio component ofvideos and other content displayed on display 312 may be played throughspeakers 314. In some embodiments, the audio may be distributed to areceiver (not shown), which processes and outputs the audio via speakers314.

The guidance application may be implemented using any suitablearchitecture. For example, it may be a stand-alone application whollyimplemented on user equipment device 300. In such an approach,instructions of the application are stored locally, and data for use bythe application is downloaded on a periodic basis (e.g., from anout-of-band feed, from an Internet resource, or using another suitableapproach). In some embodiments, the media guidance application is aclient-server based application. Data for use by a thick or thin clientimplemented on user equipment device 300 is retrieved on-demand byissuing requests to a server remote to the user equipment device 300. Inone example of a client-server based guidance application, controlcircuitry 304 runs a web browser that interprets web pages provided by aremote server.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application is downloaded andinterpreted or otherwise run by an interpreter or virtual machine (runby control circuitry 304). In some embodiments, the guidance applicationmay be encoded in the ETV Binary Interchange Format (EBIF), received bycontrol circuitry 304 as part of a suitable feed, and interpreted by auser agent running on control circuitry 304. For example, the guidanceapplication may be an EBIF application. In some embodiments, theguidance application may be defined by a series of JAVA-based files thatare received and run by a local virtual machine or other suitablemiddleware executed by control circuitry 304. In some of suchembodiments (e.g., those employing MPEG-2 or other digital mediaencoding schemes), the guidance application may be, for example, encodedand transmitted in an MPEG-2 object carousel with the MPEG audio andvideo packets of a program.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing content, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices, and may besubstantially similar to user equipment devices described above. Userequipment devices, on which a media guidance application may beimplemented, may function as a standalone device or may be part of anetwork of devices. Various network configurations of devices may beimplemented and are discussed in more detail below.

A user equipment device utilizing at least some of the system featuresdescribed above in connection with FIG. 3 may not be classified solelyas user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, or awireless user communications device 406. For example, user televisionequipment 402 may, like some user computer equipment 404, beInternet-enabled allowing for access to Internet content, while usercomputer equipment 404 may, like some television equipment 402, includea tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may have the same layout on various different typesof user equipment or may be tailored to the display capabilities of theuser equipment. For example, on user computer equipment 404, theguidance application may be provided as a web site accessed by a webbrowser. In another example, the guidance application may be scaled downfor wireless user communications devices 406.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device and also more than one of eachtype of user equipment device.

In some embodiments, a user equipment device (e.g., user televisionequipment 402, user computer equipment 404, wireless user communicationsdevice 406) may be referred to as a “second screen device.” For example,a second screen device may supplement content presented on a first userequipment device. The content presented on the second screen device maybe any suitable content that supplements the content presented on thefirst device. In some embodiments, the second screen device provides aninterface for adjusting settings and display preferences of the firstdevice. In some embodiments, the second screen device is configured forinteracting with other second screen devices or for interacting with asocial network. The second screen device can be located in the same roomas the first device, a different room from the first device but in thesame house or building, or in a different building from the firstdevice.

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include those described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.allrovi.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile voice or data network (e.g., a4G or LTE network), cable network, public switched telephone network, orother types of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together include oneor more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, a fiber-opticpath, a cable path, a path that supports Internet communications (e.g.,IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcast or other wirelesssignals), or any other suitable wired or wireless communications path orcombination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn with dotted lines toindicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4 it is awireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid lines to indicatethey are wired paths (although these paths may be wireless paths, ifdesired). Communications with the user equipment devices may be providedby one or more of these communications paths, but are shown as a singlepath in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well as other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes content source 416 and media guidance data source418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths 420and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the content source 416 and media guidancedata source 418 may be exchanged over one or more communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. In addition, there may be more than one of each of contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418, but only one of each isshown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing. (The differenttypes of each of these sources are discussed below.) If desired, contentsource 416 and media guidance data source 418 may be integrated as onesource device. Although communications between sources 416 and 418 withuser equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 are shown as throughcommunications network 414, in some embodiments, sources 416 and 418 maycommunicate directly with user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 viacommunication paths (not shown) such as those described above inconnection with paths 408, 410, and 412.

Content source 416 may include one or more types of content distributionequipment including a television distribution facility, cable systemheadend, satellite distribution facility, programming sources (e.g.,television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.), intermediatedistribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers, on-demandmedia servers, and other content providers. NBC is a trademark owned bythe National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is a trademark owned by theAmerican Broadcasting Company, Inc., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Content source 416 may be the originator ofcontent (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.) ormay not be the originator of content (e.g., an on-demand contentprovider, an Internet provider of content of broadcast programs fordownloading, etc.). Content source 416 may include cable sources,satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internet providers,over-the-top content providers, or other providers of content. Contentsource 416 may also include a remote media server used to storedifferent types of content (including video content selected by a user),in a location remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of content, and providing remotely storedcontent to user equipment are discussed in greater detail in connectionwith Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,761,892, issued Jul. 20, 2010, whichis hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asthe media guidance data described above. Media guidance application datamay be provided to the user equipment devices using any suitableapproach. In some embodiments, the guidance application may be astand-alone interactive television program guide that receives programguide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuous feed or trickle feed).Program schedule data and other guidance data may be provided to theuser equipment on a television channel sideband, using an in-banddigital signal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any othersuitable data transmission technique. Program schedule data and othermedia guidance data may be provided to user equipment on multiple analogor digital television channels.

In some embodiments, guidance data from media guidance data source 418may be provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a user equipment device may pull media guidance data from aserver, or a server may push media guidance data to a user equipmentdevice. In some embodiments, a guidance application client residing onthe user's equipment may initiate sessions with source 418 to obtainguidance data when needed, e.g., when the guidance data is out of dateor when the user equipment device receives a request from the user toreceive data. Media guidance may be provided to the user equipment withany suitable frequency (e.g., continuously, daily, a user-specifiedperiod of time, a system-specified period of time, in response to arequest from user equipment, etc.). Media guidance data source 418 mayprovide user equipment devices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidanceapplication itself or software updates for the media guidanceapplication.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices. For example, themedia guidance application may be implemented as software or a set ofexecutable instructions which may be stored in storage 308, and executedby control circuitry 304 of a user equipment device 300. In someembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only a client application resides on the userequipment device, and server application resides on a remote server. Forexample, media guidance applications may be implemented partially as aclient application on control circuitry 304 of user equipment device 300and partially on a remote server as a server application (e.g., mediaguidance data source 418) running on control circuitry of the remoteserver. When executed by control circuitry of the remote server (such asmedia guidance data source 418), the media guidance application mayinstruct the control circuitry to generate the guidance applicationdisplays and transmit the generated displays to the user equipmentdevices. The server application may instruct the control circuitry ofthe media guidance data source 418 to transmit data for storage on theuser equipment. The client application may instruct control circuitry ofthe receiving user equipment to generate the guidance applicationdisplays.

Content and/or media guidance data delivered to user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 may be over-the-top (OTT) content. OTT contentdelivery allows Internet-enabled user devices, including any userequipment device described above, to receive content that is transferredover the Internet, including any content described above, in addition tocontent received over cable or satellite connections. OTT content isdelivered via an Internet connection provided by an Internet serviceprovider (ISP), but a third party distributes the content. The ISP maynot be responsible for the viewing abilities, copyrights, orredistribution of the content, and may only transfer IP packets providedby the OTT content provider. Examples of OTT content providers includeYOUTUBE, NETFLIX, and HULU, which provide audio and video via IPpackets. Youtube is a trademark owned by Google Inc., Netflix is atrademark owned by Netflix Inc., and Hulu is a trademark owned by Hulu,LLC. OTT content providers may additionally or alternatively providemedia guidance data described above. In addition to content and/or mediaguidance data, providers of OTT content can distribute media guidanceapplications (e.g., web-based applications or cloud-based applications),or the content can be displayed by media guidance applications stored onthe user equipment device.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of content and guidance data may communicate with each otherfor the purpose of accessing content and providing media guidance. Theembodiments described herein may be applied in any one or a subset ofthese approaches, or in a system employing other approaches fordelivering content and providing media guidance. The following fourapproaches provide specific illustrations of the generalized example ofFIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribed above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similardevice provided on a home network, or via communications network 414.Each of the multiple individuals in a single home may operate differentuser equipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may bedesirable for various media guidance information or settings to becommunicated between the different user equipment devices. For example,it may be desirable for users to maintain consistent media guidanceapplication settings on different user equipment devices within a homenetwork, as described in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005. Different types ofuser equipment devices in a home network may also communicate with eachother to transmit content. For example, a user may transmit content fromuser computer equipment to a portable video player or portable musicplayer.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access content and obtain media guidance. For example, someusers may have home networks that are accessed by in-home and mobiledevices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,801, issuedOct. 25, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith content source 416 to access content. Specifically, within a home,users of user television equipment 402 and user computer equipment 404may access the media guidance application to navigate among and locatedesirable content. Users may also access the media guidance applicationoutside of the home using wireless user communications devices 406 tonavigate among and locate desirable content.

In a fourth approach, user equipment devices may operate in a cloudcomputing environment to access cloud services. In a cloud computingenvironment, various types of computing services for content sharing,storage or distribution (e.g., video sharing sites or social networkingsites) are provided by a collection of network-accessible computing andstorage resources, referred to as “the cloud.” For example, the cloudcan include a collection of server computing devices, which may belocated centrally or at distributed locations, that provide cloud-basedservices to various types of users and devices connected via a networksuch as the Internet via communications network 414. These cloudresources may include one or more content sources 416 and one or moremedia guidance data sources 418. In addition or in the alternative, theremote computing sites may include other user equipment devices, such asuser television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, and wirelessuser communications device 406. For example, the other user equipmentdevices may provide access to a stored copy of a video or a streamedvideo. In such embodiments, user equipment devices may operate in apeer-to-peer manner without communicating with a central server.

The cloud provides access to services, such as content storage, contentsharing, or social networking services, among other examples, as well asaccess to any content described above, for user equipment devices.Services can be provided in the cloud through cloud computing serviceproviders, or through other providers of online services. For example,the cloud-based services can include a content storage service, acontent sharing site, a social networking site, or other services viawhich user-sourced content is distributed for viewing by others onconnected devices. These cloud-based services may allow a user equipmentdevice to store content to the cloud and to receive content from thecloud rather than storing content locally and accessing locally-storedcontent.

A user may use various content capture devices, such as camcorders,digital cameras with video mode, audio recorders, mobile phones, andhandheld computing devices, to record content. The user can uploadcontent to a content storage service on the cloud either directly, forexample, from user computer equipment 404 or wireless usercommunications device 406 having content capture feature. Alternatively,the user can first transfer the content to a user equipment device, suchas user computer equipment 404. The user equipment device storing thecontent uploads the content to the cloud using a data transmissionservice on communications network 414. In some embodiments, the userequipment device itself is a cloud resource, and other user equipmentdevices can access the content directly from the user equipment deviceon which the user stored the content.

Cloud resources may be accessed by a user equipment device using, forexample, a web browser, a media guidance application, a desktopapplication, a mobile application, and/or any combination of accessapplications of the same. The user equipment device may be a cloudclient that relies on cloud computing for application delivery, or theuser equipment device may have some functionality without access tocloud resources. For example, some applications running on the userequipment device may be cloud applications, i.e., applications deliveredas a service over the Internet, while other applications may be storedand run on the user equipment device. In some embodiments, a user devicemay receive content from multiple cloud resources simultaneously. Forexample, a user device can stream audio from one cloud resource whiledownloading content from a second cloud resource. Or a user device candownload content from multiple cloud resources for more efficientdownloading. In some embodiments, user equipment devices can use cloudresources for processing operations such as the processing operationsperformed by processing circuitry described in relation to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5A shows an illustrative example of a media guidance displaynotifying a user of the availability of supplemental content for acurrent progression point. For example, FIG. 5A shows display 500, whichmay be presented on a display (e.g., display 312 (FIG. 3)) of a userdevice (e.g., user equipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)). Display 500includes status bar 502, which indicates both the fast-access playbackoperation currently being performed (e.g., as indicated by symbolsand/or on-screen icons associated with status bar 502) and the currentprogression point. For example, icon 508, which corresponds to a tripletriangle symbol associated with a fast-forward operation, indicates tothe user that a fast-access playback operation (e.g., a fast-forward) iscurrently being performed. Furthermore, the location of icon 508 alongstatus bar 502 indicates the current progression point in the mediaasset. For example, as the progression point in the media asset changes,the location of icon 508 will move along status bar 502 to indicate thechange.

In response to the fast-access playback operation being applied to themedia asset in display 500, the media guidance application has generatednotification 504, which lists multiple types of supplemental contentthat is available. In some embodiments, the supplemental content listedmay correspond to supplemental content associated with the media assetin general, may correspond to supplemental content that is associatedwith a current progression point, or may correspond to supplementalcontent that is associated with a portion of the media asset that hasbeen subjected to the fast-access playback operation. Accordingly, asthe fast-access playback operation is performed, the supplementalcontent listed in notification 504 may change and/or the supplementalcontent associated with each listing (e.g., supplemental content listing506) may change.

In some embodiments, notification 504 may include audio, video, and/ortextual data. For example, notification 504 may include audio prompts(e.g., rings, verbal announcements, etc.) that alert a user to theavailability of supplemental content. Alternatively or additionally,notification 504 may include an on-screen overlay such as a pop-upwindow that lists supplemental content that is available. In someembodiments, notification 504 may be generated for display by the mediaguidance application on a second screen device. For example, afterinitiating a fast-access playback operation of a first user device(e.g., user equipment device 402 (FIG. 4)), the media guidanceapplication may generate for display notification 504 on a second device(e.g., user equipment device 404 (FIG. 4)). In some embodiments, themedia guidance application may provide options for presenting thesupplemental content on the second device in response to a user input.Alternatively, the media guidance application may automatically generatefor display the supplemental content on the second device in response toa user input selecting supplemental content.

In some embodiments, notification 504 may be presented automatically inresponse to the media guidance application performing a fast-accessplayback operation. Alternatively, the media guidance application maypresent notification 504 in response to a user input received after afast-access playback operation has been initiated. Following theconclusion of the fast-access playback operation, the media guidanceapplication may remove notification 504 from display 500. Alternatively,the media guidance application may maintain the presentation ofnotification 504 following the conclusion of the fast-access playbackoperation. For example, in some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may present notification 504 whether or not a fast-accessplayback operation is currently being performed.

In display 500, a media asset is currently subject to a fast-accessplayback operation. Furthermore, the media guidance application hasgenerated for display (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))notification 504 that lists one or more types of supplemental content(e.g., supplemental content listing 506) that is available and/orrelated to the current progression point in the media asset as well as aparticular user input that will trigger the presentation of a particulartype of supplemental content. In some embodiments, the particular userinput that will trigger the presentation of a particular type ofsupplemental content may include specific tactile attributes (e.g., asdiscussed in FIG. 7 below). For example, the media guidance applicationmay detect the amount of force with which a user executed a user inputwhen contacting the user input interface (e.g., user input interface 310(FIG. 3)). In response to a user input (e.g., received via user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) of a particular type (and/or with one or moreparticular tactile attributes), the media guidance application maygenerate for display supplemental content corresponding to the userselection.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) notification 504 thatlists one or more types of supplemental content (e.g., supplementalcontent listing 506 (FIG. 5A)) that is available and/or related to thecurrent progression point in the media asset without listing aparticular user input that will trigger the presentation of differenttypes of supplemental content. Alternatively, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display (e.g., via control circuitry 304(FIG. 3)) a notification that alerts the user to the fact thatsupplemental content is available without discussing the types ofsupplemental content available.

For example, after a portion of a media asset has been subject to afast-access playback operation (e.g., a fast-forward operation),supplemental content (e.g., highlights of the portion of the mediaasset) may be retrieved (e.g., from content source 416 (FIG. 4)) and/orgenerated locally (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))corresponding to the portion of the media asset. In response to thesupplemental content becoming available, the media guidance applicationmay present the notification automatically.

FIG. 5B shows an illustrative example of a media guidance displaypresenting supplemental content. In display 550, the media guidanceapplication has generated for display supplemental content 510. Forexample, supplemental content 510 may represent a PIP display featuringa first video presentation of the media asset at the determinedprogression point played back at a normal speed overlaid on a secondvideo presentation of the media asset at a speed faster or slower thanthe normal speed due to the continuation of the fast-access playbackoperation.

In some embodiments, supplemental content 510 (and display 550) may begenerated for display in response to a user input selecting supplementalcontent listing 506. For example, notification 504 (FIG. 5A) may list aspecific user input (e.g., a button on a remote control) on a user inputinterface (e.g., user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) that when selectedwill cause the media guidance application to generate for displaysupplemental content 510. Display 550 may represent a display ofsupplemental content 510 in response to that user selection.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay supplemental content (e.g., supplemental content 510)automatically. For example, without receiving a user input or other useraction, the media guidance application may generate for display one ormore types of supplemental content. In such case, the media guidanceapplication may generate for display supplemental content in response tothe initiation of a fast-access playback operation. Additionally oralternatively, the media guidance application may generate for displaysupplemental content in response to determining that a currentprogression point is associated with supplemental content or thatsupplemental content is currently available.

For example, after a portion of a media asset has been subject to afast-access playback operation (e.g., a fast-forward operation),supplemental content (e.g., highlights of the portion of the mediaasset) may be retrieved (e.g., from content source 416 (FIG. 4)) and/orgenerated locally (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3))corresponding to the portion of the media asset. In response to thesupplemental content becoming available, the media guidance applicationmay present the supplemental content automatically.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive data(e.g., metadata) associated with a media asset that indicates whensupplemental content is available (e.g., the progression points in themedia asset associated with supplemental content). For example, the datamay be transmitted with a media asset and received (e.g., via I/O path302 (FIG. 3)) by the media guidance application. The media guidanceapplication may then interpret (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG.3)) the data to determine when the supplemental content is available asthe media asset is played back. Alternatively or additionally, the mediaguidance application may receive the data prior to the presentation ofthe media asset (or may receive data associated with a portion of themedia asset prior to presentation of that portion of the media asset)and store the data (e.g., in storage 308 (FIG. 3)). In response to arequest (e.g., received via user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)), themedia guidance application may retrieve and process the data todetermine when to present the supplemental content.

Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance application may usethe data to determine when to present notifications (e.g., notification504 (FIG. 5A)) as discussed above. For example, in response todetermining that supplemental content is available at the fifty-secondmark in a media asset, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay a notification announcing that the supplemental content isavailable at the forty-five second mark.

In some embodiments, as described above, the media guidance applicationmay present supplemental content of a second screen device in responseto determining that supplemental content is available. For example,after initiating a fast-access playback operation on a first user device(e.g., user equipment device 402 (FIG. 4)), the media guidanceapplication may generate for display supplemental content 510 on asecond device (e.g., user equipment device 404 (FIG. 4)) automatically.

In some embodiments, FIGS. 5A-B may illustrate the different mediaguidance functions that are performed based on different tactileattributes associated with a user input. For example, as discussed belowin relation to process 700 (FIG. 7)), the media guidance application mayperform different media guidance functions based on how hard, long, etc.a user presses an input (e.g., on user input interface 310 FIG. 3))associated with the media guidance application.

For example, in response to a user input featuring a first tactileattribute (e.g., a user pressing an input with a low amount of force),the media guidance application may perform a first media guidancefunction. For example, the media guidance application may perform afast-forward operation. While the fast-forward operation is performed,the user may continue change the tactile attribute associated with theuser input. For example, while the media asset is fast-forwarded, a usermay apply more pressure to the input.

In response, the media guidance application may detect a second tactileattribute associated with the user input (e.g., the user is now pressingthe input with a high amount of force). Having detected the secondtactile attribute, the media guidance application may now perform asecond media guidance function. In one example, the second mediaguidance function may increase the speed (e.g., the number of framesthat are skipped) of the fast-forward operation. In another example, thesecond media guidance function may end the fast-forward operation. Inyet another example, the second media guidance function may causesupplement content to be presented.

For example, in response to receiving a first user input (e.g., via userinput interface 310 (FIG. 3)) having a first tactile attribute, themedia guidance application may perform a fast-access playback operation(e.g., a fast-forward, rewind, skip-chapter, etc.) on a media asset. Inresponse to receiving a second user input with a second tactileattribute (e.g., via user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) or detecting asecond tactile attribute associated with the first user input (e.g., anincrease in pressure applied to the input by a user) while a media assetis subject to the fast-access playback operation, the media guidanceapplication may determine a progression point in the media asset (e.g.,a particular frame, minute-mark, etc. that denotes a current position inthe media asset) when the second user input or the second tactileattribute was received. The media guidance application may thencross-reference the progression point with a database (e.g., locatedlocally at storage 308 (FIG. 3) or remotely at any location accessiblevia communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) listing supplement content(e.g., audio and/or video content, textual summaries, highlights, etc.)associated with different progression points in the media asset todetermine supplemental content associated with the progression point.The media guidance application may then generate for presentation (e.g.,on display 312 (FIG. 3)) the supplemental content while the media assetcontinues to be subject to the fast-access playback operation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for presenting supplementalcontent. It should be noted that process 600 or any step thereof couldbe performed on, or provided by, any of the devices shown in FIGS. 3-4.For example, process 600 may be executed by control circuitry 304 (FIG.3) as instructed by a media guidance application implemented on userequipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4) in order to select a mediaguidance function from a plurality of media guidance functions based onan amount of pressure applied by a user during a user input. Inaddition, one or more steps of process 600 may be incorporated into orcombined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment(e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

At step 602, the media guidance application receives a user input whilea media asset is subject to a fast-access playback operation. Forexample, the media guidance application may receive (e.g., via userinput interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a user request (e.g., associated with oneor more user inputs) to perform a media guidance function (e.g., presentsupplemental content). In some embodiments, the media guidanceapplication may receive the user input that selects a media guidancefunction (e.g., selects a particular type of supplemental content forpresentation) from a plurality of media guidance functions (e.g., thesupplemental content types available in notification 504 (FIG. 5)).

As discussed in relation to FIGS. 5A-B, in some embodiments, during afast-access playback operation, the media guidance application maygenerate for display (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) anotification (e.g., notification 504 (FIG. 5A)) that lists one or moretypes of supplemental content (e.g., supplemental content listing 506(FIG. 5A)) that is available and/or related to the current progressionpoint in the media asset as well as a particular user input that willtrigger the presentation of a particular type of supplemental content.In some embodiments, the particular user input that will trigger thepresentation of a particular type of supplemental content may includespecific tactile attributes. For example, the media guidance applicationmay detect the amount of force with which a user executed a user inputwhen contacting the user input interface (e.g., user input interface 310(FIG. 3)). In response to a user input (e.g., received via user inputinterface 310 (FIG. 3)) of a particular type (and/or with one or moreparticular tactile attributes), the media guidance application maygenerate for display supplemental content corresponding to the userselection.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may generate fordisplay (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a notification (e.g.,notification 504 (FIG. 5A)) that lists one or more types of supplementalcontent (e.g., supplemental content listing 506 (FIG. 5A)) that isavailable and/or related to the current progression point in the mediaasset without listing a particular user input that will trigger thepresentation of different types of supplemental content. Alternatively,the media guidance application may generate for display (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a notification (e.g., notification 504(FIG. 5A)) that alerts the user to the fact that supplemental content isavailable without discussing the types of supplemental contentavailable.

At step 604, the media guidance application determines a progressionpoint in the media asset when the user input was received. For example,in response to receiving a user input requesting supplemental content,the media guidance application determines (e.g., via control circuitry304 (FIG. 3)) a current progression point of the media asset. In someembodiments, the media guidance application may determine (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) a current progression point based on acounter incorporated in or accessible to the media guidance application.For example, in a video media asset, a counter (e.g., incorporated intocontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may indicate the current frame, whichmay indicate the progression point in the media asset. The counter mayinclude a counter-rate that corresponds to the frames rate of the videomedia asset. During fast-access playback operations, the media guidanceapplication may (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) also adjustthe counter-rate to coincide with any changes to the frame-rate of thevideo media asset. For example, if during the fast-access playbackoperation every other frame is skipped, the media guidance applicationmay adjust the counter-rate accordingly.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may determine aprogression point in terms of a minute mark (e.g., three minutes, tenseconds, etc.) of the play length of a media asset. In such cases, acounter incorporated in or accessible to the media guidance applicationmay track the amount of time in the play length of a media asset thathas passed to determine a current progression point. The counter (e.g.,incorporated into control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) may include acounter-rate that corresponds to the playback rate of the media asset.During fast-access playback operations, the media guidance applicationmay (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) also adjust thecounter-rate to coincide with any changes to the playback-rate of themedia asset. For example, if during the fast-access playback operationthe rate of playback is increased four-hundred percent, the mediaguidance application may adjust the counter-rate four-hundred percent aswell.

At step 606, the media guidance application cross-references theprogression point with a database listing media content associated withdifferent progression points in the media asset to determinesupplemental content associated with the progression point. For example,after determining a progression point of the media asset associated witha user input, the media guidance application may input (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the progression point into a database(e.g., stored locally at storage 308 (FIG. 3) or remotely at anylocation accessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)).

For example, the database may be structured as a lookup table and themedia guidance application may filter the information (e.g., related tocontent of the media asset at different progression points) in thedatabase based on the determined progression point to outputsupplemental content (e.g., subtitles, audio and/or video content, etc.)associated with the progression point. The database may then output theretrieved supplemental content for receipt by the media guidanceapplication.

In some embodiments, the media guidance application may receive (e.g.,via I/O path 302 (FIG. 3)) data associated with a media asset thatindicates what supplemental content is available (e.g., the progressionpoints in the media asset associated with particular supplementalcontent). For example, the media guidance application may receive thedata with a media asset transmitted from a remote source (e.g., contentsource 416 and/or any location accessible via communications network 414(FIG. 4)). The media guidance application may then interpret (e.g., viacontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the data to determine what supplementalcontent is available for each progression point as the media asset isplayed back.

Alternatively or additionally, the media guidance application mayreceive (e.g., via I/O path 302 (FIG. 3)) the data prior to thepresentation (e.g., on display 312 (FIG. 3)) of the media asset (or mayreceive data associated with a portion of the media asset prior topresentation of that portion of the media asset) and store the data(e.g., in storage 308 (FIG. 3)). In response to a request (e.g.,received via user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) to generate for display(e.g., on user equipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)) the media assetor in response to determining the current progression point in the mediaasset, the media guidance application may retrieve and process the datato determine the particular supplement content to present.

At step 608, the media guidance application generates for presentationthe supplemental content while the media asset continues to be subjectto the fast-access playback operation. For example, in response todetermining (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) the particularsupplemental content corresponding to the progression point associatedwith the user input, the media guidance application (e.g., via controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) presents supplemental content to the user. Forexample, the media guidance application may present a PIP display (e.g.,on display 312 (FIG. 3)) featuring a first video presentation of themedia asset at the determined progression point played back at a normalspeed overlaid on a second video presentation of the media asset at aspeed faster or slower than the normal speed due to the continuation ofthe fast-access playback operation.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 6 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 6 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one of more of the steps in FIG. 6.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of illustrative steps for determining tactileattributes associated with a user input. It should be noted that process700 or any step thereof could be performed on, or provided by, any ofthe devices shown in FIGS. 3-4. For example, process 700 may be executedby control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) as instructed by a media guidanceapplication implemented on user equipment 402, 404, and/or 406 (FIG. 4)in order to determine tactile attributes associated with a user input.In addition, one or more steps of process 700 may be incorporated intoor combined with one or more steps of any other process or embodiment(e.g., process 600 (FIG. 6)).

At step 702, the media guidance application receives a user input. Insome embodiments, step 702 may correspond to step 602 (FIG. 6). Forexample, the media guidance application may receive (e.g., via userinput interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a user request (e.g., associated with oneor more user inputs) to perform a media guidance function during theperformance of a fast-access playback operation. In some embodiments,the media guidance application may receive the user input and determine(e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) one or more media guidancefunctions associated with the particular user input. For example, afirst media guidance function may be to present supplemental contentduring a fast-access playback operation and a second media guidancefunction may be to end the fast-access playback operation. To select aparticular media guidance function to perform from the one or more mediaguidance functions, the media guidance application may detect (e.g., viaa component incorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310(FIG. 3)) and analyze (e.g., via control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)) tactileattributes associated with the user input.

At step 704, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the pressure applied by a user duringthe user input. For example, when entering a user input a user may usevarying amounts of force when contacting the user input interface. Themedia guidance application may detect (e.g., via a componentincorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) aparticular amount of force applied by the user and use this amount offorce to select a particular media guidance function to perform. If themedia guidance application determines that the function is not selectedbased on the pressure applied by a user during the user input, the mediaguidance application proceeds to step 710. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the function is selected based on thepressure applied by a user during the user input, the media guidanceapplication proceeds to step 706.

At step 706, the media guidance application determines the amount ofpressure associated with the user input. For example, in addition toreceiving user inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) may detecttactile attributes associated with a user input for use by the mediaguidance application in determining a function to perform (e.g.,presenting a textual description of a current progression point in amedia asset). The media guidance application may quantify this databased on a particular metric (e.g., pounds per inch, grams per meter,etc.). For example, in some embodiments, in addition to receiving userinstructions via the user input, the media guidance application mayreceive data (e.g., metadata associated with the user instructions)describing how the user input was received.

At step 708, the media guidance application stores the determined amountof pressure. For example, after determining an amount of pressureassociated with the user input, the media guidance application may store(e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined amount. After step708, the media guidance application proceeds to step 710.

At step 710, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the length of time pressure is appliedby a user during the user input. For example, when entering a user inputa user may apply pressure for varying amounts of time. The mediaguidance application may detect (e.g., via a component incorporated intoor accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) a particular lengthof time the user applies pressure to the user input interface. If themedia guidance application determines that the function is not selectedbased on the length of time the user applies pressure during the userinput, the media guidance application proceeds to step 716. If the mediaguidance application determines that the function is selected based onthe length of time the user applies pressure during the user input, themedia guidance application proceeds to step 712.

At step 712, the media guidance application determines the particularlength of time the user applies pressure to the user input interface.For example, in addition to receiving user inputs, user input interface310 (FIG. 3)) may detect tactile attributes associated with a user inputfor use by the media guidance application in determining a mediaguidance function to perform. For example, a first media guidancefunction may be to present a PIP display of supplemental contentassociated with a current progression point of the media asset during afast-access playback operation and a second media guidance function maybe to end the fast-access playback operation. The media guidanceapplication may quantify this data based on a particular metric asdiscussed above.

In some embodiments, holding a user input down for a specific amount oftime may cause the media guidance application to perform differentfunctions. For example, if the media guidance application determinesthat a user has held an input down for a first period of time, the mediaguidance application may perform a first media guidance function (e.g.,present audio content associated with a current progression point in amedia asset), whereas if the media guidance application determines thata user has held an input down for a second period of time, the mediaguidance application may perform a second media guidance function (e.g.,present video content associated with a current progression point in amedia asset in a PIP display).

At step 714, the media guidance application stores the determined lengthof time the user applies pressure to the user input interface. Forexample, after determining the particular length of time the userapplies pressure to the user input interface, the media guidanceapplication may store (e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any locationaccessible via communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determinedlength. After step 714, the media guidance application proceeds to step716.

At step 716, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the velocity of a user input. Forexample, when entering a user input a user may use varying amounts ofspeed when contacting the user input interface. The media guidanceapplication may detect (e.g., via a component incorporated into oraccessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) the velocity of theuser input to select a particular media guidance function to perform.For example, a first media guidance function may be to present textualdescriptions during a fast-access playback operation and a second mediaguidance function may be to retrieve/generate highlights associated withthe portion of the media asset that has been subject to the fast-accessplayback operation. If the media guidance application determines thatthe function is not selected based on velocity of the user input, themedia guidance application proceeds to step 722. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the function is selected based on velocityof the user input, the media guidance application proceeds to step 718and determines velocity.

In some embodiments, a fast entry of an input (e.g., associated with ahigh velocity) may cause the media guidance application to perform adifferent function than a slow entry of an input (e.g., associated witha low velocity). For example, if the media guidance applicationdetermines that a user has quickly pressed a remote control keyassociated with stopping a fast-access playback operation, the mediaguidance application may stop the fast-access playback operation. Incontrast, if the media guidance application determines that a user hasslowly and deliberately pressed a key associated with stopping afast-access playback operation, the media guidance application maygenerate for display a PIP display featuring a first video presentationof the media asset at the progression point played back without beingsubject to the fast-access playback operation that is overlaid on asecond video presentation of the media asset subject to the fast-accessplayback operation.

At step 718, the media guidance application determines velocityassociated with the user input. For example, in addition to receivinguser inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3)) may detect tactileattributes associated with a user input for use by the media guidanceapplication in determining a function to perform (e.g., presentingsubtitles associated with a current progression point of a media assetat a normal playback rate). The media guidance application may quantifythis data based on a particular metric as discussed above. For example,in some embodiments, in addition to receiving user instructions via theuser input, the media guidance application may receive data (e.g.,metadata associated with the user instructions) describing how the userinput was received.

At step 720, the media guidance application stores the determinedvelocity of the user input. For example, after determining the velocityassociated with the user input, the media guidance application may store(e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessible viacommunications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined velocity. After step720, the media guidance application proceeds to step 722.

At step 722, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe function is selected based on the length of time from the last userinput. For example, a user may enter user inputs at varying frequencies.The media guidance application may detect (e.g., via a componentincorporated into or accessible by user input interface 310 (FIG. 3))the length of time from the last user input to select a particular mediaguidance function to perform. For example, a first media guidancefunction (e.g., stopping the performance of a fast-access playbackoperation) may be performed if a threshold amount of time has not passedbetween two consecutive user inputs. In contrast, a second mediaguidance function (e.g., identifying chapter information associated withthe current progression point in the media asset) may be performed if athreshold amount of time has passed between two consecutive user inputs.If the media guidance application determines that the function is notselected based on the length of time from the last user input, the mediaguidance application proceeds to step 728. If the media guidanceapplication determines that the function is selected based on the lengthof time from the last user input, the media guidance applicationproceeds to step 724 and determines the length of time from the lastuser input that is associated with the user input.

At step 724, the media guidance application determines the length oftime from the last user input. For example, in addition to receivinguser inputs, user input interface 310 (FIG. 3) may detect tactileattributes associated with a user input for use by the media guidanceapplication in determining a function to perform (e.g., generating apresentation of supplemental content). The media guidance applicationmay quantify this data based on a particular metric as discussed above.For example, in some embodiments, in addition to receiving userinstructions via the user input, the media guidance application mayreceive data (e.g., metadata associated with the user instructions)describing how the user input was received.

In some embodiments, the repeated entry of the same user input may causethe media guidance application to perform particular functions. Forexample, if the media guidance application determines that a user hasrecently increased the frequency of entry of a particular user input(e.g., the user is rapidly pressing a pause key) during a fast-accessplayback operation, the media guidance application may end a fast-accessplayback operation currently in progress. In contrast, if the mediaguidance application determines that a user has not recently increasedthe frequency of entry of a particular user input (e.g., the user is notrapidly pressing a pause key) during a fast-access playback operation,the media guidance application may continue the fast-access playbackoperation currently in progress and generate supplemental content in anon-screen overlay.

At step 726, the media guidance application stores the determined lengthof time from the last user input. For example, after determining thelength of time from the last user input, the media guidance applicationmay store (e.g., at storage 308 (FIG. 3) and/or any location accessiblevia communications network 414 (FIG. 4)) the determined length of time.After step 726, the media guidance application proceeds to step 728.

At step 728, the media guidance application determines whether or notthe user has ended the user input. If the media guidance applicationdetermines that the user input has not ended (e.g., a user is stillapplying pressure to the user input), the media guidance applicationreturns to step 702. For example, the media guidance application maycontinuously determine the tactile attributes during a user input. Whilethe media guidance application continuously determines the tactileattributes associated with the user input, the media guidanceapplication may continuously update the stored tactile attributes. Forexample, the media guidance application may perform multiple iterationsof process 700 while a user enters a user input.

In some embodiments, as the stored tactile attributes are updated, amedia guidance function selected and/or performed by the media guidanceapplication may change. For example, during a first iteration of process700, the media guidance application may detect a user has appliedpressure to a user input (e.g., associated with stopping a fast-accessplayback operation) for a first period of time. Based on this period oftime, the media guidance application may generate for display a textualsummary of the media asset subject to the fast-access playbackoperation. During a second iteration of process 700, the media guidanceapplication may detect that the user is still applying pressure to thesame user input. The length of time pressure has been applied to theuser input now corresponds to a second period of time. Based on thisperiod of time, the media guidance application may generate for displaya PIP display overlaid on the media asset featuring highlights of aportion of the media asset subject to the fast-access playbackoperation.

During a third iteration of process 700, the media guidance applicationmay detect that the user is still applying pressure to the same userinput. The length of time pressure has been applied to the user inputnow corresponds to a third period of time. Based on this period of time,the media guidance application may end the fast-access playbackoperation.

If the media guidance application determines that the user input hasended, the media guidance application proceeds to step 730 and retrievesthe stored attributes. The media guidance application may then select afunction based on the one or more stored attributes at step 732.

It is contemplated that the steps or descriptions of FIG. 7 may be usedwith any other embodiment of this disclosure. In addition, the steps anddescriptions described in relation to FIG. 7 may be done in alternativeorders or in parallel to further the purposes of this disclosure. Forexample, each of these steps may be performed in any order or inparallel or substantially simultaneously to reduce lag or increase thespeed of the system or method. Furthermore, it should be noted that anyof the devices or equipment discussed in relation to FIGS. 3-4 could beused to perform one of more of the steps in FIG. 7.

The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are presentedfor purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the presentdisclosure is limited only by the claims which follow. Furthermore, itshould be noted that the features and limitations described in any oneembodiment may be applied to any other embodiment herein, and flowchartsor examples relating to one embodiment may be combined with any otherembodiment in a suitable manner, done in different orders, or done inparallel. In addition, the systems and methods described herein may beperformed in real-time. It should also be noted, the systems and/ormethods described above may be applied to, or used in accordance with,other systems and/or methods.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for supplementing media assets duringfast-access playback operations, the method comprising: receiving a userinput while a media asset is subject to a fast-access playbackoperation; determining a progression point in the media asset when theuser input was received; retrieving from a database listing mediacontent associated with different progression points in the media assetsupplemental content associated with the progression point; andgenerating for presentation the supplemental content while the mediaasset continues to be subject to the fast-access playback operation. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the supplemental content includes apicture-in-picture display featuring a first video presentation of themedia asset at the progression point played back at a normal speed,wherein the picture-in-picture display is overlaid on a second videopresentation of the media asset at a speed faster than the normal speed.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the supplemental content includes atextual summary of the media asset at the progression point.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the supplemental content includes audio ofthe media asset at the progression point without the fast-accessplayback operation applied.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thesupplemental content includes highlights of a portion of the media assetthat has been subject to the fast-access playback operation.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: generating for presentation anotification that supplemental content is available prior to receivingthe user input.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining an amount of pressure applied by a user associated with theuser input; and selecting the supplemental content based on the amountof pressure.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining alength of time the amount of pressure is applied by the user; andselecting the supplemental content based on the length of time.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: determining a velocity associatedwith the user input; and selecting the supplemental content based on thevelocity.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fast-access playbackoperation is a rewind operation or a fast-forward operation.
 11. Asystem for supplementing media assets during fast-access playbackoperations, the system comprising control circuitry that: receives auser input while a media asset is subject to a fast-access playbackoperation; determines a progression point in the media asset when theuser input was received; retrieves from a database listing media contentassociated with different progression points in the media assetsupplemental content associated with the progression point; andgenerates for presentation the supplemental content while the mediaasset continues to be subject to the fast-access playback operation. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the supplemental content includes apicture-in-picture display featuring a first video presentation of themedia asset at the progression point played back at a normal speed,wherein the picture-in-picture display is overlaid on a second videopresentation of the media asset at a speed faster than the normal speed.13. The system of claim 11, wherein the supplemental content includes atextual summary of the media asset at the progression point.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the supplemental content includes audio ofthe media asset at the progression point without the fast-accessplayback operation applied.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein thesupplemental content includes highlights of a portion of the media assetthat has been subject to the fast-access playback operation.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the control circuitry: generates forpresentation a notification that supplemental content is available priorto receiving the user input.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein thecontrol circuitry: determines an amount of pressure applied by a userassociated with the user input; and selects the supplemental contentbased on the amount of pressure.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thecontrol circuitry: determines a length of time the amount of pressure isapplied by the user; and selects the supplemental content based on thelength of time.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the controlcircuitry: determines a velocity associated with the user input; andselects the supplemental content based on the velocity.
 20. The systemof claim 11, wherein the fast-access playback operation is a rewindoperation or a fast-forward operation.